Six killed as blizzards cross northern Japan

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Some parts of Japan have had seven times the average annual snowfall this winterJiji Press/AFP

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Railway workers and investigators inspect a bullet train after it derailed in Akita prefectureJiji Press/AFP

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Koko Kobayashi cleared snow at her two-storey home last monthNick Ut/AP

Lucinda Beaman

Last updated at 6:16AM, March 3 2013

At least six people, including three children, have died in snow-related
incidents as blizzards swept across the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido
over the weekend.

A 40-year-old woman and her three teenaged children were found dead late
yesterday in a car buried beneath snow in the town of Nakashibetsu, eastern
Hokkaido, local police said.

They are believed to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning as the car’s
exhaust pipe was blocked by snow and the windows were up, Kyodo News
reported, adding that snowfalls of more than 6.6 feet (2m) were recorded in
the area.